The Pennsylvania House of Representatives last week approved a bill that would require state residents to prove that they are in the United States lawfully before receiving public benefits.
The June 21 vote was 157–34.
Local lawmakers who supported the measure were Reps. Tom Murt (R-152nd dist.), Ed Neilson (D-169th dist.), Brendan Boyle (D-170th dist.), Kevin Boyle (D-172nd dist.), Mike McGeehan (D-173rd dist.), John Sabatina Jr. (D-174th dist.) and John Taylor (R-177th dist.).
Area legislators who voted against it were Reps. Larry Curry (D-154th dist.), Tony Payton (D-179th dist.) and Mark Cohen (D-202nd dist.).
Rep. Dwight Evans (D-203rd dist.) did not vote.
The bill that passed was slightly different from one passed earlier by the Senate, so it will have to go back to the Senate for concurrence.
The May 24 vote in the Senate was 40–9. Sen. Mike Stack (D-5th dist.) voted for the measure. Sens. Tina Tartaglione (D-2nd dist.) and Shirley Kitchen (D-3rd dist.) voted against it.
The ACLU and Community Legal Services are among the groups that oppose the legislation. ••
